Reflection on the Feast of Pentecost Sunday.

First reading. Acts. 2: 1-11
Second reading. 1Corinthians 12: 3b-7.12-13
Gospel. John 20. 19-23

My dear brothers and sisters today we will reflect on the historical background for the feast of Pentecost, the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Apostles, and finally what we can learn from today’s feast.  For Christians Pentecost marks the end and the goal of the Easter season. It is the birthday of the Church. But it is important to know that the word Pentecost means “Fiftieth or fifty.” Pentecost was originally a Jewish festival for harvest. The Jewish people were celebrating the harvest feast after the fiftieth day of Passover feast. When God freed the Israelites from slavery and led them into the Promised Land, the Lord blessed them with a bountiful land, and thereafter every year when the first crop would come, the Israelites were to have a festival and give thanks to the Lord. They were to remember how God had brought them out of their bondage in Egypt and brought them up into the Promised Land, where they could enjoy such bounty. Secondly, later on during this feast they also remembered the covenant God made with the Israelites, “I am your God, and you are my people.” It was purely a Jewish festival. Now how did it become a Christian feast? There are two reasons. 1. Because it was seven weeks after the resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon those followers of Jesus who had gathered together in Jerusalem and many people became Christians. It was no longer the harvest of wheat but the harvest of people who became Christians. Secondly, it was several years after the resurrection of Jesus, the early Christians reflected on their origins and chose this feast to mark the birth of God’s new covenant with God’s people.

What was the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Apostles and for the Church? Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He commissions His disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the world. But as soon as Jesus leaves them they retire to their upper rooms and hide themselves. They were afraid of the Jews. They knew that the people did not like them, they knew that their teaching was different from the message of the Jews, and they just felt like wrapping themselves up in bed and not having to get up and face the hostile society. But it was the power of the Holy Spirit that made them to sacrifice their lives for Jesus to be His witnesses and to share the Good News of God’s love for all humankind. When the fear of life troubled their faith into silent submission to despair, the Holy Spirit warmed them up and empowered them to go out to the Society and make a difference. The Holy Spirit reminded them that they have a mission. Their mission was to break the walls of hatred, division, and selfishness.  This was possible only through the working of the Holy Spirit.

Now, what is the significance of the feast of Pentecost in our life? Pentecost day is marked with confidence and abundance. It is a time of rejoicing, a time to remember and a time to rejoice in what the Lord had done in our lives. In dark times, when we are anxious about our future, and the future of our children, when the forces of evil seem more prevalent than the good when we are at the point of giving up in life when our lives seem old and tired, Pentecost invades our lives once again and reminds us, that we are part of the harvest of fruits sown by Christ and made possible by His sacrifice. And that changes everything!  Pentecost reminds us that just when we think that there is no hope in life when we feel that there is no meaning in life, with the Holy Spirit, we will find fulfillment and completion. Pentecost is not just a season or annual feast for us. It is not simply a fact or event that we commemorate. It is our beginning, our entry point, our ever-present moment. The Holy Spirit continues to work in us to transform and inspire us, so that God’s great work of salvation can be shown forth in us and brought to its completion. Inspired by the Holy Spirit’s action, we receive the courage to lift our hearts in hope, and the Spirit fills us, making us new.  So wherever we are today, whatever situation in which we find ourselves, let us know that the Spirit is with us. Inspired by the Holy Spirit’s action, we receive the courage to lift our hearts in hope, and the Spirit fills us, making us new.

Joke of the day. 

After years of his wife's pleading, this rich good ole boy finally goes with her to her little local Church on Sunday morning. He was so moved by the preacher's sermon that on the way out he stopped to shake his hand. He said, "Reverend, that was the best @%&x sermon I ever did hear!" The Preacher replied, "Oh!! Why, thank you sir, but please, I'd appreciate it if you didn't use profanity in the Lord's house." The man said, "I'm sorry Reverend, but I can't help myself, it was such a @#&x good sermon!" The Reverend said, "Sir, PLEASE, I cannot have you behaving this way in Church!" The man said, "Okay Reverend, but I just wanted you to know that I thought it was so @%&x good, I put $5000 in that their collection plate." And the Reverend said, "No @#&x?"